On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club - A Mystery of Murder (Jan Christopher Mysteries, Episode 2) by Helen Hollick #BookReview #JanChristopherMysteries #CoffeePotBookClub @HelenHollick @maryanneyarde

I am so excited to share my review of A Mystery of Murder (Jan Christopher Mysteries, Episode 2) by Helen Hollick. Thank you to The Coffee Pot Book Club for your invite to take part in the tour.

A Mystery of Murder

(Jan Christopher Mysteries, Episode 2)

By Helen Hollick

‘Had I known what was to happen soon after we arrived at Mr and Mrs Walker’s lovely old West Country house, my apprehension about spending Christmas in Devon would have dwindled to nothing.’

Library Assistant Jan Christopher is to spend Christmas with her boyfriend, DS Laurie Walker and his family, but when a murder is discovered, followed by a not very accidental accident, the traditional Christmas spirit is somewhat marred... 

What happened to Laurie’s ex-girlfriend? Where is the vicar’s wife? Who took those old photographs? And will the farmer up the lane ever mend those broken fences? 

Set in 1971, this is the second Jan Christopher Cosy Mystery. Join her (and an owl and a teddy bear) in Devon for a Christmas to remember. : 

Will the discovery of a murder spoil Christmas for Jan Christopher and her boyfriend DS Laurie Walker – or will it bring them closer together?

Oh, if ever there was a book written just for me! There are some books that you read, and you smile with glee as you do so. There is something about reading a book wherein it is so obviously clear that the author lives in England that makes it magical. Maybe it is just me, but I absolutely adored the vast amount of tea consumed in this novel, and the fact that the characters spoke in an incredibly British way – you won’t find an American calling people ‘pet’ (would you?).

In the early 1970s, Jan is heading from London to Devon to spend Christmas with Laurie, her boyfriend, and his parents, Alf and Elsie. Meeting the parents, though, is a big thing, and it will be the first Christmas Jan has spent away from her Uncle Toby and Aunt Madge since they adopted her. So, obviously, Jan is a little apprehensive about going, but is determined to try and enjoy herself. 

So, when human bones are found in the garden of Alf and Elsie’s house, after a night of finding the neighbour’s pigs in their garden, and having to try and shoo them out before they completely destroyed the plants, things start to grow dramatic. There is a mystery afoot – who did they find in the garden, how long had they been there, and who put them there? 

I do love a good Christmassy book, mostly because they put me in a festive mood, and Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. Hopefully, though, I won’t be finding any bones this Christmas. Another reason this book is so good is because it isn’t too long. With some mystery books, you start reading them, and then have to stop and go to bed, or stay up really late to finish reading them. This means you either have to try and fall asleep while trying to solve a mystery that you know you will have to wait until the next evening to actually find out the answer to, or you spend the next day very tired. This book is the perfect length to read the whole thing in an evening, which means you can go to bed satisfied, and feeling Christmassy – bonus! 

Now, I wasn’t in Devon in the 1970s (I was not actually born at that point, so I was nowhere in the 1970s) but I have been to Devon a couple of times and it is so incredibly easy to imagine the house that Alf and Elsie live in, as well as the village. And I know very well about muddy lanes, and how horrible it is to have to walk up so many hills – I lived in a rural area for a while, why is it so hilly! I almost felt like I was in this book, and I absolutely fell in love with the characters… except for Laurie’s Gran, Ethel. I wasn’t entirely sure about her. She is so incredibly up herself, and I definitely know what it’s like to try and maintain your sanity while trying to keep an elderly person, who seems to think they are right all the time, and that they can say whatever they want, happy. And that is a very difficult task. 

Another thing I loved? The amount of tea they drink in this book. If anything happens, no matter how insignificant, someone puts a kettle on, and they all have a nice cup of tea. In my day to day life, I drink a lot of tea, it is one of my favourite things to drink, and I like staying true to the stereotypes of the country I live in. I do not have a teapot, although I have hinted, rather un-inconspicuously, to my husband that I would like one for Christmas. Whether I will get one remains to be seen, because he is not a big fan of the season, and only really plays along for the children in our lives. However, my logic is that, if I bring it up enough, he will eventually catch on. If not, I’ll buy one myself. I just want to be able to drink a lot of tea! 

I have not read book 1 in this series, and, although it is not necessary to have read book 1 to understand book 2, I immediately wanted more from these characters and this author as soon as I had finished reading this book. I think I might have to start hinting to my husband about buying me book 1 for Christmas as well!

I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club but you can grab yours on Amazon And check this out, you can read this novel for free with #KindleUnlimited subscription.

Helen Hollick

Helen Hollick and her family moved from north-east London in January 2013 after finding an eighteenth-century North Devon farm house through being a ‘victim’ on BBC TV’s popular Escape To The Country show. The thirteen-acre property was the first one she was shown – and it was love at first sight. She enjoys her new rural life, and has a variety of animals on the farm, including Exmoor ponies and her daughter’s string of show jumpers.

First accepted for publication by William Heinemann in 1993 – a week after her fortieth birthday – Helen then became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am The Chosen King) being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she also writes a pirate-based nautical adventure/fantasy series, The Sea Witch Voyages. Despite being impaired by the visual disorder of Glaucoma, she is also branching out into the quick read novella, 'Cosy Mystery' genre with the Jan Christopher Mysteries, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working for thirteen years as a library assistant.

Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She also runs Discovering Diamonds, a review blog for historical fiction, a news and events blog for her village and the Community Shop, assists as ‘secretary for the day’ at her daughter’s regular showjumping shows – and occasionally gets time to write...

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